Foundations of Interpersonal

and Group Behavior

The Interpersonal Nature of
Organizations
Interpersonal relations and group processes pervade all
organizations and are vital in managerial activities
Interpersonal Dynamics: Types of Interactions
 Between individuals
 Between groups
 Between individuals and groups
Outcomes of Interpersonal Behaviors
 Primary source of need satisfaction
 Base for social support
 Source of synergy
 Conflict
 Types of Groups - Formal
Formal Groups – are formed by an organization to do
its work

Command Group – is a relatively permanent group with

functional reporting relationships and is usually included in
the organization chart. [HR Dept, Quality Assurance Dept, Cost Accounting Dept, etc.]
Task Group – is a relatively temporary group established to
do a specific task. [Task Force, Focus Group, etc.]
Affinity Group – is a collection of employees from the same
level in the organization who meet on a regular basis to
share information, capture emerging opportunities and solve
problems. [Executive Committee]
 Types of Groups - Informal

Informal Groups – are established by its members.

Friendship Group – is a relatively permanent group
which draws its benefits from the social relationships
among its members. [gardening, cooking, book
clubs, etc.]
Interest Group – is a relatively temporary group
organized around a common activity or interest of its
members. [women’s networking, etc.]
Classification Scheme for Types of Groups
 Stages of Group Development

Four-Stage Process for Development of a

Group
1) Mutual Acceptance
2) Communication and Decision Making
3) Motivation and Productivity
4) Control and Organization
 Stage 1: Mutual Acceptance
– members share information about
themselves and get to know each
other. Trust is built.

NOTE:If members already know each other, this

stage may be short.
Stage 2: Communication and
Decision Making
– members discuss their feelings more
openly and agree on group goals
and individual roles in the group.

Note: Members begin to develop norms of behavior.

Stage 3: Motivation and
Productivity – members cooperate,
help each other and work toward
accomplishing tasks.

Note: The group is accomplishing its work and moving toward the
final stage of development.
 Stage 4: Control and Organization
– the group is mature; members work
together and are flexible, adaptive
and self-correcting.

Note: Not all groups reach this stage. Some become

frustrated because they may have skipped a stage;
some disband.
Stages of Group Development
 Four Basic Group Factors
Affecting Group Performance
1. Group composition – is the degree of
similarity or difference among group
members on factors important to the group’s
work
Homogeneity: Degree to which members
are similar in one or several ways that
are critical to the group’s work
Heterogeneity: Degree to which
members differ in one or more ways that
are critical to the group’s work
Variables relating to group composition:
Productivity
Type of task
Organizational diversity
Cultural traits – difference in the importance
placed on group membership, how they view
authority, uncertainty; may cause distrust and
stereotyping.
2. Group size – is the number of members of the group
Affects the number of resources available to perform the task
Affects degree of formalization of interactions, communication,
participation
Can increase the degree of social loafing, the tendency of some group
members to put forth less effort in a group than they would working
alone
Ideal group size is determined by:
group members’ ability to interact and influence each other
(maturity of the group)
the maturity of individual group members
group tasks
the ability of the group leader to deal with communication, conflict,
task activities
3. Group norms – are standards against which
the appropriateness of a behavior is judged.

Result from the combination of members

Personality characteristics
The situation
The historical traditions of the group
Purpose of norms in organizations
Help the group survive
Simplify and increase predictability of expected behaviors
Help the group to avoid embarrassing situations
Express the group’s central values for membership identification
4. Group cohesiveness – is the extent to
which a group is committed to staying
together.
Results from forces acting on the members
Attraction to the group
Resistance to leaving the group
Motivation to remain a member of the
group
 Intergroup Dynamics

A group’s contribution to an organization

depends on its interactions with other groups as
well as on its own productivity.

Primary factors that influence intergroup

interactions:
Group characteristics
Organizational setting
Task and situation bases of interaction
How Groups Make Decisions

1. Group polarization: The tendency for a

group’s average post-discussion attitudes to be
more extreme than its average pre-discussion
attitudes.
Occurs when individuals discover during discussion
that other share their opinions.
Persuasive arguments can encourage polarization.
Members may believe that because the group is
deciding, they are not individually responsible for the
decision.
2. Groupthink: A mode of thinking that
occurs when members of a group are deeply
involved in a cohesive in-group and the desire
for unanimity offsets their motivation to appraise
alternative courses of action.
Conditions which foster development of groupthink
Cohesiveness
The leader’s promotion of his/her preferred solution
Insulation of the group from experts’ opinions
The Groupthink Process

Gregory Moorhead, Richard Ference, and Chris P. Neck, “Group Decision Fiascoes Continue: Space Shuttle
Challenger and a Revised Groupthink Framework,” Human Relations, 1991, vol. 44, pp. 539-550.
Group Problem Solving
Techniques to stimulate group problem-solving
capabilities
Brainstorming
Used in the idea-generation phase of decision
making that assists in development of numerous
alternative courses of action.
The Nominal Group Technique
Group members follow a generate-discussion-
vote cycle until they reach a decision.
The Delphi Technique
A systematic gathering of judgments of experts for
use in developing forecasts.